Star Trek Online: Darkness Divine
by Beamer1996
Summary: The Iconians don't seem as extinct as they once were. One man with a forgotten past will meet their absolution and come to terms with his future. The Iconians, the Borg, Karen Andrews, and the USS Velocity are tied together by darkness divine.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue

_Science Vessel USS T'Pol_

_Bellatrix Sector_

_Stardate: 86087.82_

_Night shifts sucked. Lieutenant Marie Stovall was barely holding her eyes open to keep watch on the display that although was nondescriptly idle, strained her eyes and kept her awake. She was very tempted to fall into that sweet abyss known as sleep, but she knew it would diminish her chances of getting that astrometrics position she was hoping for. Her coffee had gone stale too. She hadn't the strength left in her legs to walk over to the small metallic slot on the other side of the room, and ask the computer for a new one. So all she had to look forward too was looking at this beeping tachyon indicator. Wait tachyons?_

_"Sir I'm picking up elevated tachyon readings." She reported straightening up from her slouching posture._

_The Bolian Commander Kot ascended from the slender center seat and moved to rendezvous with the Lt. on the other side of the room. "Coming from where?"_

_"Directly in front of us"_

_"Drop us out of warp" he called to helm. "Captain Zendman to the bridge"_

_The ship did a slight shutter as the dropped to impulse. The entire bridge speechless with the mortal terror and shock of something not seen for 30 years. The Borg._

Chapter 1

Starbase Deep Space 9

Bajor System

Stardate 89193.47

"We commit this body to space, in the hope she may not be forgotten." Admiral Clark said in a stoic yet saddening tone.

The torpedo fired, sending Commander Karen Andrew's lifeless body to the outer reaches of the station and into the big swirl of light and color they called the Bajoran Wormhole.

The Admiral hated doing this. For the past week, 2800 Dominion ships from the Dominion War-which had been sent to the future by the Prophets-had occupied the station. When they invaded, the Scottish woman gave her life to see everyone she could evacuated the station. And now her Fiancé and commanding officer, James Kurland, would never know the joys of marital bliss. She didn't deserve this, no one deserved this.

"Admiral" Kurland said in a dark and obviously heart-broken tone.

"Beamer" He said calmly. "No need to stand on formalities here James."

"Beamer, I want to thank you for performing the funeral. Karen would have appreciated it."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't have performed a lighter ceremony today. I know how much she meant to you." Beamer could see the hurt in his face, a consuming hurt that makes one want to lash out against all who hurt him. He'd been there himself and it almost lead to loss of soul analogous to loss of loved ones and their souls. Dealing with the Dominion diplomatically may have been the right thing for the station, but it might not have ridden James of his demons.

James wasn't sure he'd be ok if it wasn't for the ad-Beamer. He seemed to understand what he was going through, and that simple understanding is what made haunting reality of Karen's death more bearable. Since Karen had no father she looked up to Beamer, and he'd always been there. He understood why he'd reach out. A man who doesn't remember anything of his race or past, who lost his adopted family in the tragedy of Delta Vega.

He and Beamer were the last ones to leave the quaint little bar known as Quark's-naturally Karen's favorite spot considering her Scottish upbringing-. He realized just how much it was affecting the blue skinned, blue haired, antennae yielding Admiral. He hurt as much as he did. He blamed himself the same way he did, irrationally. Both of them did everything in their power to see DS9 was taken back and Karen didn't give her life in vain, and then some. It's not anyone's fault but Kar'Ukan's, for stabbing her in the back when she stayed manning her station at OPS. Then why did it seem like it?

Beamer made his way to the turbolift and asked the computer to take him to his office-a habit he developed naturally-. The Director of Deep Space Intelligence may have seemed like a daunting title when he first started the job a month ago, but he slowly grew into it. He had a spacious office with a gorgeous view of the Wormhole-not as gorgeous as the view from the promenade's second level but just as nice-and all his antique "Video Game" systems neatly on their shelves like trophies to be admired.

Beamer immediately went to go slouch in his chair and yield to his overly empathetic nature by started to cry. Karen was his protégé and he felt as though he let her down. Never in the universe would he find someone like her. Funny and witty, caring to a fault, and a person with a lot of untapped potential. _Oh Karen, you poor poor girl. It should've never been this way._

He sat there for what seemed hours, musing over a lost officer that mattered so much in his twisted confusing life. He finally yielded to his fatigue and went back to his quarters to wait for Alpha shift via a deep slumber. He did not sleep well that night.


	2. Addormentare

_Science Vessel USS T'Pol_

_Bellatrix Sector_

_Stardate: 86087.82_

_The captain exited the small enclosed tube-like form of the Turbolift into the nerve center to a nightmare the federation never expected to see-wishful thinking or not-and the bridge crew mesmerized by persona of the cube. He'd have plenty of time to tell Starfleet to expect an "I told you so" from Ms. Annika Hanson; he needed to prepare for-_

_"Battle stations, all decks on high alert, I repeat high alert, this is not a drill. When did it show up on our sensors commander?"_

_The Bolian commander, apprehension-putting it mildly-filling his eyes barely managed to say "About a minute ago"_

_A small beep and Lt. Stovall spoke up "Sir they're attempting to access the Transwarp gate and redirect it to coordinates mark 145 by 122 by 40, sector 8. The Vega Colony sir."_

_Zendman knew what he had to do "Sent a message to any ships near Vega, tell them to evacuate the planet and engage the Borg cube."_

_"I'm detecting more tachyon readings." Marie announced grimly. The cube brought his big brothers._


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Starbase Deep Space 9

Bajor Sector

Stardate 89194.82

~BEEP, The time is 0729~

*mumble*

~BEEP, The time is 0729 and 5 seconds~

Beamer gave up his useless fight with the station chronometer and slipped out of bed. He barely got his feet on the floor before the blasted thing sounded again.

~BEEP, The times is 072-~

"I'm up already!"

The computer yielded and ended it's, to many sadistic, wake up call. Beamer was sure that if the female Cardassian computer-though tempered by Chief O'Brian in 2370-had been human, she would have either broken down and put in for a transferred to a more sequestered place, or she would have been the most perfect flight attendant known to the known galaxy.

The spotted blue figure made his way to the replicator and ordered Terran Chocolate Milk- which was proven to be healthier than regular milk- and headed to the coffee table with his portable computer terminal. He asked the computer for a list of messages and it politely spat back a list of 4 messages. A communique' from station operations regarding a series replicator malfunctions,-he put the glass down on the table without taking a sip-a condolence letter to Kurland, which he would look at later in his office, an ad to a trip to Risa 50% discount, and an encrypted DSI report, which he'd read now. "Computer, decrypt file DSI T1184."

~Please state security clearance.~

"Authorization Beamer Sigma 3 Blue."

~Security clearance approved, access granted.~

The Admiral looked over what appeared to be an intelligence file on the status of the Tal Shiar, possible whereabouts of Taris, and the opportunity to gain access into Iconian interactions with the quadrant. For some reason, he had this strange fascination with the Iconians that wasn't solidly concrete to him. All he knew was that they needed to be stopped, and they needed to be stopped now.

He went through the standard routine of deleting the message and headed to his office up in OPS. Luckily enough they added a space directly under the view screen-thus removing the engineering pit-when DSI was officially stationed on DS9, making it home base.

Commander Tuusan T'ylander was working at his usual security station with his "standard issue" stone face. He presumed James was in his office and didn't want to be disturbed, and he couldn't blame him. He could tell by the natural hum and a lot of "blinky lights" that everything had finally settled back into regular life to some extent. That didn't mean it wasn't still a grim atmosphere, but it was gradually getting better. He walked into his office and saw the last person he'd want to see today. His CMO.

She saw Beamer walk in and go to sit in his chair. He pressed a button and his computer screen came out from the desk. Being the nag she was, she pressed the button again and the screen retreated from what would be an argument.

"What is it Tulska, I'm very busy today."

She straightened out and asked wryly "Too busy to come in for a standard transfer physical?"

Beamer was not in the mood for this. "Doctor"

"Ok so I'm here to see how you're doing. Everyone's taking Karen's death pretty hard."

"You Velocity's Counselor now too?"

"No, but I think you should see one. Now I know a colleague who stops by DS9 every week named Chani."

Beamer scoffed at the notion.

"I can always make that an order Director Admiral." Its times like these she liked being a CMO. The times she could beat the brass at its game of orders and tactics, plus she liked seeing Beamer try and get out of that protocol. In all the years she knew the man, he could never avoid her house calls.

"Tomorrow" She was about to say something and he cut her off. "DSI work today."

"Fine, but if I hear you avoided her, I'll lock you up in sickbay."

He nodded and she walked out the doors heading for the lift. The Black haired Betazoid woman mused to herself; I'll need to remind him.

The Bridge of the Odyssey class ship was still under refit at upper pylon 2 following the introduction of a scientific variant. To Spink, affectionately nicknamed Blabbington or Blab, it was satisfactory. The Aquarius Bridge reduced hull stress by 43.74% thus enabling a few more seconds of travel time whilst at slipstream velocities. The Velocity truly lived up to her name, as she could maintain a normal cruising speed of Warp 28 and maximum speed of Warp 30.999. However illogical it was, Blab felt...pride in the sister ship of the Enterprise. However seeing the majority of the bulkheads off to the side, and engineers crowding every conduit and console, he felt uncomfortable. He would be more pleased once the refit was finished, as no doubt Mr. Munroe would.

What concerned Blabbington the most was the admiral's behavior as of late. It was illogical for him to assume he'd never lose anyone, and even more so to assume Ms. Andrew's death his fault. Unfortunately there was not much that he himself could do himself. No it would be more logical to have a certified councilor to show Beamer the illogic in blaming himself for the commander's death.

It was that point that a certain female Romulan tactical officer decided to strike a conversation.

"The new antiproton beams are installed and awaiting test firing." Valeros reported

"I believe the admiral wanted to 'watch it in action.' Schedule the test for 1400 hours tomorrow so we work around the admiral's prior engagements."

"What 'prior engagements?'" asked the Bajoran OPS officer Bilazz. Valeros gave a "I-was-going-to-ask-the-same-thing" look.

"I believe Ms. Tulska would be better suited to answer that."

"Gee Blab, you're not afraid of the Admiral's wrath now are you?" Tulska asked stepping out of the lift.

Valeros retorted back "I've heard he locks them in the holodeck, running a program based solely... on illogic." There were more than a few giggles, and even Blabbington raised an eye brow in amusement. It was nice to see some humor cut through the darkened atmosphere that was hanging overhead.

Tulska in all seriousness stated "He's still reeling from Karen's death, but he'll move on."

Blabbington nodded and asked "Will he be here tomorrow?"

"You can bet on that, I have a feeling he's going to try and ditch his appointment."

Both walked off to their respected duties and Valeros asked in vain again "What appointment?"

She opens her eyes wildly. She tries to sit up but something is holding her back. She was confused, scared, and desperate to escape. She was weak compared to them, and as an axiom they've heard before goes "The weak shall perish." She was one, they were many. They would take what they wanted from her. She would be unable to resist. They will send the strong one to speak for them. She will be their voice, their puppet.

The strong one greets her. The strong one is one that she thought she'd never see again. She does not know how such a thing is possible. She has so many questions yet the strong one will not answer, they will not answer. The strong one informs her of what they want and leaves her to think. They will abide by the strong one's decision.

They will move forward as planned. They will capture the traitor. They will wait on the far side of the anomaly. They will wait for the right moment and strike fear into the weak ones. She will give knowledge of the weak ones, her people to them to capture the traitor. The traitor's companion who escaped them is of no consequence no. The weak ones will tremble; the weak ones will fall to them. They will reclaim their place in the stars. All will yield or all will perish.


	4. Crepuscolo

_Miranda Class Vessel USS Velocity A_

_Chi Herculis sector_

_Stardate: 86087.85_

_"Sir, I'm picking up a priority one distress call coming in on one of the hyper subspace frequencies." Reported the comm officer._

_Captain Renolds with a concerned look on his face, lifted out of center seat and trotted over to the position of the last call his ears received and transmitted to his brain for a split second analysis. "Put in on."_

_The computer gave its usual chime signaling a transmission from somewhere elsewhere in the quadrant was about to be displayed on the holographic screen of viewing. The crackle of static and "snow" breached across the quality of the message as the human captain tried to get his most urgent message across. "T- any -ll shi-iving th-ssae, I urge yo- to re- Vega -ny i-antly! They will s-b-attacke-rg-vessels-conduit."_

_The 52 year old Human's concerns were growing like Yalian Moss Ferns across his mind. He decided he would throw caution to the wind on this one and head to Vega Colony to see what was going on. He gave the orders to the ensign and the ship felt the familiar rush of being accelerated to FTL speeds._

_The Lt. only came in to see what Dr. Moore could do for a burnt hand, but she had turned the situation around and made it a physical. The blue skinned antennae yielding officer was less than amused by the Doctor's sarcastic bed side manor, If only staff-. JOLT._

_"All hands to battle stations, all senior officers to the bridge." The klaxons bellowed._


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Odyssey class vessel USS Velocity B

Upper Pylon 3 Starbase Deep Space 9

Bajor Sector

Stardate: 89

All was quiet in the mess hall at that time of day. All the tables were empty, all the lights dimmed, all the chatter silent. It was at this time that Valeros liked having morning meal. Being part of the Tal Shiar helped fashion her in such a way she saw everyone as a threat, and although it was a habit she was trying to kick it would ruin the morning for her. It may have been ironic that she remained in solitude at a place designed for social interaction, but she hardly cared. All that mattered to her right now was eating her Salad, reading her security reports, and getting up to the bridge.

The reports were mediocre at best-a tribute to Smithson's fine work as station security-and she was done with her salad-not even sure why she ordered it in the first place- so she headed up to the bridge. Only people up at this time were some technicians and the normal night watch crew. It was actually their intern's shift. Cadet 3rd class Bowlaxe had only recently signed on to intern on Velocity, but the security chief had to say, he was doing a marvelous job; she's never say so to him of course. Bowli, as he insisted everyone call him, was a good kid; typical Bolian officer yet didn't have that bad habit of making people's ears bleed from the sheer amount of nonsense they spout to everyone. Valeros has suspected she'd have to make him bleed in some very unpleasant places if he did so, but so far he talked at an acceptable rate at which she could understand.

She relived the slightly overweight cadet and sat down in the center seat, while Bowli headed for his quarters. She leaned back in the chair, and went back to the novel she'd been reading, Clash on the Fire Plains.

Tulska strutted into her office, greeted by her head nurse Telsia Watkins. Such was the routine every morning for the past 3 years, and as much as she liked change, she yielded to the necessary evil.

Strutting over to the replicator she asked "Coffee, Xedwalquin blend." In a moment the coffee was perfectly synthesized and she took a sip. Interesting blend, She needed to remember this one. "Telsia, begin a series on Ensign Dalheen's electrolyte levels, I'm a bit concerned she isn't eating enough for two."

"Yes doctor."

Ensign Dalheen was the least of her worries. She needed the Admiral to realize that he was misplacing his guilt. Regardless of if he was in Starfleet or not, the Prophets would have still had to place the Dominion fleet in this time, and they would have still boarded the station and killed Karen. At times like this, she wished she took those pre-psychology courses so she wouldn't feel so useless. She amended, be useless.

"Tel"

BONK. Engineer Munroe reeled from fitting his head against the low clearance celling. "Frazzle, give a guy a little warning."

Smiling, the Bajoran OPS officer, Bilazz helped his friend out of the conduit. "Figured you could use a break so you can grab some breakfast."

"I wish I could, but I have the entire engineering staff working 24/7 finishing these refits. Unfortunately that includes me." He walked over to the warp core and inputted an adjustment into the console.

"Your chief, delegate and take a break."

"What kind of example would that set for everyone?"

"Ok I'll get Tulska to feed you intravenously."

He yielded. "Ok fine, Koleth take over."

They went to the usual table near the 2nd window and reclined into their chairs. The two friends had known each other ever since the academy, possibly due to some intervention from a certain parent who had made it to the top by being leader of a commando group. Not that Tel minded. The frazzle haired Bajoran had been what exactly the sort of source of fun he needed.

"So how's Operations doing?" inquired Tel.

"We're up to our necks tracking down a sensor ghost. They keep reading minute monatronic distortions and traces of a nebula."

"Monatronic?"

"It's a recently discovered radiation type which is somehow embedded in cosmic background radiation or whatever. More up Ginglerx's alley."

"No doubt he finds it fascinating."

"The cat's meow." both them chuckled.

It indeed was fascinating to Ginglerx. Although the Catian wasn't purring, his tail was twitching back and forth in eager anticipation. It had seemed that the sensory array was receiving no "ghosts." It was actually a monatronic distortion less than 97 meters of the station and Velocity's port bow. The information he was gathering seemed somewhat familiar, however he just couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Hey" Valeros said placing her hand on the felinoid's shoulder, "calm down before your tail gets in knots."

"It's just, I've seen these readings before, but I can't place it."

"Well maybe you can come back to it later. You've been working on it all night after all."

Sigh "I guess you're right."

It was typical of him, he always needed things figured out, everything clear. Catians had been known for their hardworking attitudes, and Ginglerx was no exception. Ginglerx's backstory came at a premium on the ship and he was surrounded by a thick veil of secrecy. All that was known was that the topic of the mysterious Science officer's origins was not something you brought up unless you wanted to be shredded into paper-thin slices.

Reading his PADD he studied the scans with an intense gaze realizing a possibility. He cross referenced the scans with logs from the Enterprise D and Velocity A. What he found made his stomach turn. THUD. The Klaxons bellowed.


	6. Sogno

_USS Velocity A_

_Chi Herculis Sector_

_Vegan System_

_Stardate: 86087.86_

_The ship plummeted, jolted and reverberated from the bolts and beams from the massive geometric figures towering ominously above them. The Borg meant business. He knew his place was on the bridge and rushed down the crowded, red-lit corridor and into the turbolift. Everyone was rushing to stations to combat the scourge that resonated a fear that had long slumbered in the collective memory of the Federation._

_Beamer knew his family was depending on him to protect them. His brother was depending on him. He tried to reassure himself that they'd make it to Tom Suller's small shuttle, but his mind quickly countered with scenarios of them not making it. Focus on the job, he repeated in his mind, focus on the job._

_"Lt." came the commanding voice of Captain Johnson_

_"Yes sir?"_

_"I need you to take a team to the Khitomer and help them get their deflectors back online. Report to Transporter room 3 with 3 other crewmen."_

_"Aye sir." He motioned for 3 Lieutenants and an ensign to follow him._

_As they arrived on the deck, everyone was scrambling in all 360 degrees for their stations through a torrent of coolant and a rainfall of sparks. They rushed down the deck with a sense of dire urgency and the immediate need for extreme expediency. They all made it to the pad and the comm activated._

_"Chief, when we lower the shields, beam them over." The captain said faux-calmly_

_"Aye sir."_

_The shields lowered and a shimmer of light washed over the away team. Everyone on the bridge rushed to get the shields up, but the Borg were too fast and efficient for them. Massive jolts catapulted everyone out of their seat._

_"REPORT!" The captain bellowed as the tactical officer climbed back to his seat_

_"Shields offline!" A look of horror then acceptance morphed over the blonde haired young man. "They're targeting the bridge."_

_"Hard to p-"_

_A lighting strike struck the saucer section, cutting a swath straight through it. No one was left alive to turn to port._


	7. Chapter 4

_Ambassador Class Vessel USS Velocity A_

_Chi Herculis sector_

_Stardate: 86087.85_

_"Sir, I'm picking up a priority one distress call coming in on one of the hyper subspace frequencies." Reported the comm officer._

_Captain Renolds with a concerned look on his face, lifted out of center seat and trotted over to the position of the last call his ears received and transmitted to his brain for a split second analysis. "Put in on."_

_The computer gave its usual chime signaling a transmission from somewhere elsewhere in the quadrant was about to be displayed on the holographic screen of viewing. The crackle of static and "snow" breached across the quality of the message as the human captain tried to get his most urgent message across. "T- any -ll shi-iving th-ssae, I urge yo- to re- Vega -ny i-antly! They will s-b-attacke-rg-vessels-conduit."_

_The 52 year old Human's concerns were growing like Yalian Moss Ferns across his mind. He decided he would throw caution to the wind on this one and head to Vega Colony to see what was going on. He gave the orders to the ensign and the ship felt the familiar rush of being accelerated to FTL speeds._

_The Lt. only came in to see what Dr. Moore could do for a burnt hand, but she had turned the situation around and made it a physical. The blue skinned antennae yielding officer was less than amused by the Doctor's sarcastic bed side manor, If only staff-. JOLT._

_"All hands to battle stations, all senior officers to the bridge." The klaxons bellowed._


	8. Spettro

_Vega Colony_

_Chi Herculis sector_

_Vegan System_

_Stardate: 86087.90_

_Alarms screeched across the hillside of the quiet little town of Sky Haven following by mass of bolts from beds and evacuation procedures commencing. Thell knew he had to get to the house and get his parents immediately. The road seemed to stretch to eternity and back and time seemed to play in slow motion. If was if time wanted him to never forget this moment of history, this moment of panic and fear and need to protect. The road of gravel and the sounds of footsteps and footfalls moving the gravel and grinding the dirt became engraved in his memory. The torrent of people rushing to designated evacuation shuttles was his only obstacle. After what seemed to be hours-which in reality was only 5 minutes- he reached his homestead of 6 years and found his parents just heading out the door. The 3 people were absorbed into the flowing river of people heading towards the hills to run from the terror of assimilation. The specters came out of nowhere and the river had dispersed into little drops of people scattering in every direction. Thell and the elderly couple ran for the clearing that Suller's shuttle should be. All they found was the smattering of plants broken after the shuttle lifted off. The specters drew their attention to the 3 running for the federation base. The trio made their way down the paved street with the heavy pitter-patter of their feet. Surroundment. The specters surrounded the curly haired woman preparing her for what was to come. The elder man went back to try to save her and told the boy to keep going. He hesitated and watched as their normally pinkish skin was turned ghostly white and sprouted implants. He ran as fast as he could to the base of the protectors in shock of what had just happened. The sound of particle discharges rang in his ear and a force pulled him into a tent. He fell to the ground and succumbed to his despair silently. He lay there in a fetal position as the specters kept up their siege, knowing ultimately he was not safe._

_Lt. Clark stepped off the pad to the look of bad news. The Vulcan ensign told them of the tragedy that had befallen their ship. A sudden jolt and they realized they needed to work fast. They soon reached deflector control and started making the necessary repairs. _

_He felt something wasn't right on the planet below. Something happened to his parents and brother. He needed to get down there quickly, and nothing was going to stop him._

_"I need to get down there."_

_"Sir." The Vulcan ensign grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving in haste. "Ensign Spink to the Bridge. Permission for Lt. Clark and myself to join the ground forces?"_

_"Permission granted."_

_Beamer started out the door with the ensign in tow. "Thank you, Ensi-"_

_"Blabbington, I'd prefer to be called Blabbington."_


	9. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Holding cell

Unknown place

Unknown sector

Stardate: Unknown

"Captain." Thell shook the unconscious form. No response. "Timothy!"

"What!" Beamer bolted up right out of his slumber. Upon looking at his surroundings a part of him regretted not remaining in the bliss that was unconsciousness. "So it wasn't a dream."

"More like a nightmare." Thell offered and hand to his brother and pulled him onto his feet.

"Where are we?"

"My guess would be the alien ship we saw."

Beamer took a moment to take in the surroundings. They were in a small room about the size of a type 2 shuttle. The walls were of a distilling shade of grey and had no visible wall panels. Judging by the low hum and the faint reddish glow of the wall, they were surrounded on all 6 sided by a forcefields of Antiprotons. A pretty sparten environment; just what you'd expect from a prison cell. He had all but been stripped of everything of value save his uniform, and found Thell in the same predicament as well. Bottom line: they weren't in a very good position to escape. "Our hosts don't appear to be the trusting type."

"Can't say I can't blame them. They have to know we'll exploit any avenue of escape."

"Question is, why do they want us?"

"Because you've betrayed them." Beamer turned around to see someone he never thought he'd see again.

"Karen."

Acting captain's log stardate 89198.65, Commander Spink recording. The captain and Lt. Clark have been abducted by an unknown vessel making the use of monatronic distortions as a means of travel. The senior staff and I have reconvened on DS9 to discuss possible courses of action to rescue our officers.

"They're Iconians." Tuusan stated bluntly.

Everyone in the room was very confused, although probably none more so than James Kurland. Why this "stand-off-ish" man would say it was a long dead race that kidnapped the Admiral and Lt. was beyond him. "Weren't they killed off several millennia ago?"

Blab added, "In an orbital bombardment."

"That was what was widely believed in Section 31 until 2 years ago."

That's right he's in 31. James mentally kicked himself for forgetting DSI's dealings, Beamer's dealings with Section 31's pet project Shadow Blade.

"On stardate 88007.25" Shadow Blade continued, "the federation encountered an unknown vessel of similar configuration to ours in orbit around Iconia. It was later encountered on stardate 88173.91 where it took Empress Sela's damaged ship through a monatronic distortion. Based on information gathered prior we now know it's the Iconians."

"And these Monatronic distortions are created by Iconian Gateway technology?" Ginglerx asked.

"Essentially yes, which means we have a way of tracking them once we reach the Andromeda Galaxy." A face of confusion and puzzlement shortly became the predominant feature of everyone in the room save for the commander who's impassive gaze remained looking at the monitor he was presenting from.

"Hold on, how do you know that the Iconians are stationed in Andromeda?" Bilazz inquired. By the rather unimpressed look on the Commander's face, James knew that was a stupid question to ask him.

"'The section knows all' Lt." judging by the sheepish look he immediately sprouted, He had realized it.

Tuusan nodded and continued, "Using a T-55, we'll arrive at Andromeda within 3 hours. At that point we'll look for an exact match to the monatronic signature of the vessel that took the Clarks with the aid of Dr. Belop here." The Dr. stepped forward and what were immediately apparent was his aquatic nature and his height of about two meters.

"I have only one question. When do we leave?"


	10. Incubo

_Vega Colony_  
_Chi Herculis sector_  
_Vegan System_  
_Stardate: 86088.02_

_A barrage of bolting shots enticed the sound of ground-hitting implants to reverb in the ears of those with apprehensive faces. Their fear was as apparent as the morning sun that had long since faded into the darkness of night, blackening the battle field. The Borg pushed relentlessly onward towards the defenders in a sense of ruthlessness and anger that had never been perceived in the collective in all of its existence. It was no longer an urge to suppress the individuals and their imperfect thoughts, it was now a drive to conquer and destroy. What the Borg cannot assimilate, they will destroy._  
_The battle, the clash of cybernetics and flesh and blood, it would destroy the world they were trying to protect. The two opposing forces on one battlefield firing for the hope that one last shot would end it all either in life or death. The arms they bore flashed and struck at the opposing force in a volley the likes of which no one could imagine. The adrenaline, pumping faster than they could keep count, keeping them going in their massive onslaught. No time for independent thought, no time for feelings to get in the way of their duty, their directive._  
_No one could understand the rush of feelings they were facing, and no one could attempt put aside the fear completely. It was life or death, existence or nonexistence, suppression or freedom. Their cause was just, their motive pure, their intentions good, and their actions courageous. No one could fault them and no one should have tried. For they were not just doing a job, they were defending their home._  
_*** ***_  
_Beamer, Blabbington, and the away team, fizzled into existence in the middle of the battle and immediately took cover at the MACO Base camp. Beamer quickly assessed the situation looking around the encampment and the massive crusade in progress on his home. He noticed Thell sitting in the corner of the tent and rushed to him with a need to embrace him stronger than anything he had felt before._  
_"Thell, are you ok?" Beamer said hoarsely with a dry and choked up throat. Thell gripped tighter onto his older brother in sheer panic and fear and sorrow. _  
_"They're gone Timothy! They took them! They took them and they're gone!" He said in a voice Beamer thought he'd ever hear from him, the brother who was fearless being knocked down to a five year old child afraid of the dark._  
_"Who's gone Thell? Who did they take?"_  
_"They took them! Mom and Dad! They took them!" Beamer stood there in shock as what Thell said sunk in. His parents were gone, the Borg took them_  
_"Mom and Dad?! What did they do to them?! Where are they?!" Beamer yelled shaking Thell back and forth._  
_"Sir, he's in shock. He most likely has no idea where they took them." Blab said in a slightly tense tone. Beamer stopped shaking Thell, realizing what he was doing and stood up._  
_"Blab, can you do anything for him?"_  
_"I can attempt to suppress his emotions and allow him to sleep." Beamer nodded and Blab went about inducing a mind meld with his brother. _  
_Beamer stopped in his tracks. For the first time in his life, despite all the jumbled emotions and his worries, he had clarity. He rushed down the path with his gun, not hearing the calls to return, firing shots in all direction to reach them, to reach his parents._

**(Sorry it's been a while but I have been so busy with school and the fleet on STO. Thanks for your patience while I work on Chapter 6 ^^ Decided to change to a chapter and intermission format so expect that to be changed soon.****My friend** **Fans Fabulis, who created the character of commander Tuusan, is writing a story called _To Forge a Blade_. It delves into the backstory of the character and gives you a good idea of what he's like and what his motivations are. Highly suggest you read it concurrently to Darkness Divine. See you in chapter 6. Long Live the Empire!)**


	11. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Odyssey class vessel USS Velocity B

Upper Pylon 3 Starbase Deep Space 9

Bajor Sector

Stardate 89198.65

If there was one thing that could be attributed to Velocity, it would be her versatility. With the increasing threat of the Borg and Klingons, the Odyssey class ship was thrust into completion by Starfleet Command in order to make use of her multi-purpose design and four subclasses; one such sub-class was made specifically for the next Enterprise. However, when it was decided agencies such as DSI and Omega Force needed their own vessels in order to operate more efficiently, a new sub-class was created. Velocity, being the first in this class, was aptly designated NX 93731-B and assigned to Omega Force under the command of then Captain Timothy Clark. With Velocity now the flagship of DSI, it was only practical that it would serve as an effective ship to retrieve the Admiral from the Iconians, or so was the thinking of Tuusan Madrae T'lyrander.

The crew could only speculate on his intentions for their ship. Most were nervous and rightfully so as more and more 31 agents kept boarding and making modifications to the Strategic Operations Cruiser. All major sections of the ship had been turned upside-down including engineering, and Telford did not like it one bit.

"I don't know if you're aware, but it's standard procedure to let the chief engineer know before you start making overhauls to his engine room and nearly half the ship!" The CE yelled at one of the technicians who was working diligently, and annoyingly well, at his job

"I have direct orders from Commander T'lyrander sir; you'll have to take it up with him." He replied calmly and curtly, keeping his eyes on the huge device sitting just next to the warp core.

"I'll do that!" Just as Munroe turned he looked into the gaze of the black suited commander who was about his size. The look on the commander's face was still in its stone faced cast with only steady, normal breaths offering any indication he was more than idle.

"Can I help you Mr. Munroe?"

"Why yes you can, I'd like an explanation for why this ship has been torn apart without any advanced notice."

"If I thought it was important to let you know, you would know. Sufficed to say, we're making modifications in the best interest to the mission."

"Oh, and you didn't think it beneficial to have the Chief Engineer in charge of this vessel helping you out with these modifications?" Munroe was growing more and more volatile by the second while the Commander simply stared at him thinking briefly.

Letting out a sigh he responded "Very well, you may assist Ericson in connecting our 'modification' to your power grid."

Not entirely satisfied, yet still glad to feel useful, he nodded and moved to assist the agent. The commander headed out the door into the corridor taking mental notes along the way about the layout of the ship, double checking against the schematics he had read and memorized before. He made his way into the cylindrical shaped Turbolift and called for it to take him to the bridge on deck one.

Being as the lifts were working at diminished capacity due to repairs, Tuusan started thinking about the time he had met the Admiral on the slow ride up. It was a busy night at Quark's bar, rather was busier than normal, when the Commander had come in from a routine mission. He was trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to read his PADD and drink his drink in peace when he overheard a small confrontation between a human loudmouth and a Gorn officer. The loudmouth, whose eyes were somewhat bloodshot and cheeks a distinguishable shade of red, had started going on about the cold heartlessness and 'lizard mentality' of the Gorn. The Gorn, whose name he later learned was S'lithis, had tried to ignore the human drunk and continue about his business as though he said nothing, however the inebriated individual wouldn't leave well enough alone. When the Gorn had stood up to retaliate, a captain had stepped in to break up the fight. The Captain, who had blue eyes, blue skin, blue spots, and a blue uniform, showed his anger through the antenna on his head telling the guy to end the argument and go back to his quarters. The plastered man had decided he didn't like what the officer had to say and took a swing which impacted his target's side. He then decided to step in and help stop the bar fight before it started, pinning his arm behind his back and escorting him out. The Officer, Andorian-like in appearance, thanked him to which he replied "I didn't want to see your face pounded in needlessly."

The lift halted at its intended destination, and the Commander stepped onto the chaos which at one point was the bridge. As was the same with the rest of the ship, a majority of the bulkheads had been torn off their normal spots to allow access to the engineers modifying the EPS system. The main bridge staff had gathered at the still functional science station, where Dr. Belop was informing them on how monotonic particles worked in the grand scheme of the universal fabric.

Dr. Belop was tall and aquatic in appearance. He had beady eyes towards mid-section of his head which arced towards a top to a smooth apex that arched backwards. His clammy scaly skin that had a bluish-aquamarine hue to it which may have looked a little rough to the touch had an unusual smoothness to it, almost as though it had been submerged in the depths of the sea for centuries; that wasn't far off from how they found him. He was found on a planet that had suffered some sort of catastrophic orbital bombardment eons before the ships had arrived, operating on a course heading from the ship Beamer and his brother T'Nell were found in. Because of this reason, he had been in regular contact with the Admiral and DSI for quite some time.

"-And so these particles are like the seams in the fabric of the universe. The Iconian portal allows them to undo those seems and stitch them back together." At this point the aquatic humanoid had a lot of bored but understanding expressions on the collective faces of his 'class'.

"Dr. Belop, how goes the sensor calibrations?" The Section 31 agent inquired

Turning his focus to the commander he replied "Oh it's going pretty well, the only thing we need to do if tune the sensors to a subspace frequency of 432 Hz. That will track back the 'seam' that the Iconians opened and closed." The aquatic Doctor was noticeably talkative only when it had to do with a subject at hand; a true marriage of the 'chatterbox' and 'silent type' mentalities that was showing quite perceptibly when he spoke.

Overhearing the conversation from the Science station, Ginglerx chimed in. "How do we find the Admiral and Lt. Once we catch up to the vessel?"

"You'll be scanning for this isotope," he responded, crossing the room and handing him a PADD, "it will allow us to get a lock on them and retrieve them."

Having advanced degrees in chemistry and subatomic physics, Ginglerx had no idea what to make of the scans of the isotope that was on the black colored PADD. For that matter the bipedal feline had no idea what to make of the Commander himself. Certainly he was from Section 31 and secrets were their thing, but there was something just beneath he just couldn't put his claws into. The single man had seemed to keep to himself about such things and didn't socialize much, but still one could not fault him for his dedication to the job. Then again, 31 would've demanded no less, right? He decided he save his personal inquiries until after they had the Admiral and Lieutenant back safely.

"I've never seen an Isotope like this, I'm not certain sensors will be able to track it efficiently." Stating plainly handing the PADD back.

"Then I would suppose it's fortunate that the sensors are being upgraded to handle it for the duration of our mission," The Commander stated flatly. He headed to the Command Chair and started looking over his black PADD. The PADD itself had been a curiosity being as the Commander had it everywhere he went, never letting it out of his sight. From his constant usage of the handheld device, many on the crew assumed it was possibly requisitioned from Section 31 in order to keep him up-to-date. However as it was not permitted to inquire about Section matters, the crew kept that shared opinion to themselves.

Tuusan couldn't care less about their shared opinion of his tech or himself, because in the end, it was irrelevant. He had a mission to rescue the Admiral which he would carry out, and that was that. No questions asked, no answers answered.

* * *

The two blue skinned men looked at the Scottish woman standing in front of them. She looked just like the friend they had buried not just two days earlier; the friend who had died a week ago at the hands of a time displaced Jem'hadar. How this was possible was way beyond them, which would explain the immense skepticism they were feeling at seeing this….ghost.

"I assure ya I am in fact Karen Andrews." She said in an Irish accent. "Admiral I-"

"How do I know you're really her? Commander Andrews died a week ago from impalement of the heart, followed by massive cardiac failure." Beamer said as calmly as he could under the circumstances.

"Ye were on the Planet Vega when the Borg attacked it in 2409. It was your home planet, thus ya took extensive action in violation of your orders to protect it. Those actions led to the death of several people and almost cost ya your career."

"But everyone knows that." Thell said in response, having a tougher time holding his emotions as his older brother could.

"But not everyone knows that Admiral T'Sla pulled ya out of it and gave ye command of Velocity B by yelling at a room full of Admirals for being 'heartless vek'sha that had no sense of familial ties.'"

Beamer immediately smiled at the word vek'sha, which literally translated into rust buckets. He looked at her realizing she was indeed who she said she was. "It's really you? Isn't it?" he said with his voice breaking and tears forming in his eyes. Nodding back, Beamer moved to embrace her. Covering what seemed like a vast distance between the two, he finally reached her open arms and hugged her tightly not wanting to ever let go of her again. He looked for the right words to express how happy he was that she was alive, yet the flood of tears and the continual breaking of his voice blocked the path of the verbal expressions he wished to convey to his protégé.

"I know Beamer," she said obviously touched by how much he cared for her; even though she was only 2 years under him he still considered her his responsibility. "I thought I'd never see ye again either if those bloomin' Iconians had anything to do with it.

Chuckling slightly Thell remained his distance, knowing how much his brother needed to deal with her without interruption from him. He too had been embraced in a similar way after Vega when both of them had needed it. Robbing him of the opportunity to express that to Karen would have been tantamount to taking her away from him again. His embraces weren't considered clingy in nature, but more like a reassurance for both parties that it wouldn't happen again if he could help it. As soon as his brother let go he asked what would seem a logical question to ask, "Why do the Iconians want us?"

Karen gave him an almost apologetic look "Apparently ye two betrayed them."

"Betrayed? But we've never had direct contact with the Iconians"

"That ye know of for certain. Ya two don't remember anything before Starfleet found ye two, do ya?"

Beamer replied realizing the implication "No, we don't. You think we were somehow involved with them?"

"I don't think, I know. The guards here are of ye people.

Beamer and Thell both stopped in a moment of pure reality shattering shock. Their people work for, quite possibly, the greatest enemy they could ever face. Saying it was a lot to take in was an understatement in this case, as the information they had received had barely been able to compute to Beamer or Thell. Beamer slumped to the floor in disbelief with the knowledge overwhelming him. They sat there in silence, in the small rudimentary room, that was their cell.


End file.
